Question

Distinguish between anorexia nervosa and bulimia regarding diagnostic criteria. Be sure to discuss the role of body image, weight, and prognosis.

Answer 1

• Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, a form of self-starvation;bulimia nervosa, in which individuals engage in repetitive cycles of binge-eating alternating with self-induced vomiting or starvation.
• Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia are characterized by an overvalued drive for thinness and a disturbance in eating behavior.
• The main difference between diagnoses is that anorexia nervosa is a syndrome of self-starvation involving significant weight loss of 15 percent or more of ideal body weight, whereas patients with bulimia nervosa are, by definition, at normal weight or above.
• Anorexics cut the food into very small portions or move it around on a plate without eating.People suffering from bulimia display periods of abnormally large appetite.
  
• People who have anorexia severely reduce their food intake to lose weight. People who have bulimia eat an excessive amount of food in a short period of time, then purge or use other methods to prevent weight gain.
• Anorexia often stems from a distorted body image, which may result from emotional trauma, depression, or anxiety.
• Someone with bulimia may develop an unhealthy relationship to food over time. They may get caught up in damaging cycles of binge eating and then panic about the calories they’ve consumed. This may lead to extreme behaviors to prevent weight gain.
• The criteria required to diagnose anorexia is:
• restricting food intake to maintain a weight below the average weight for your age, height, and overall build
• an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat
• connecting your weight with your worth or other distorted perceptions about body image
• The criteria required to diagnose bulimia is:
• recurrent episodes of binge eating
• recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviors — like excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, fasting, or misuse of laxatives — to prevent weight gain
• bingeing and inappropriate compensatory behaviors both occurring an average of at least once per week, for at least three months
• connecting your weight with your worth or other distorted perceptions about body image.